San Diego State University’s Basic Needs Center, located inside Calpulli Center, offers a wide range of services to assist students in areas such as food and housing security, transportation, childcare, technology and more.

Dustin Adkins, the lead coordinator of the Economic Crisis Response Team and Basic Needs Center, said that the center is open to any and all students who want to learn more about basic needs, even if they are not currently in a needs crisis.

CalFresh, one of the resources the center connects students with, is a nutritional-assistance program available to SDSU students for help with affording groceries and maintaining a balanced diet without imposing financial stress.

The Basic Needs Center can help students learn more about the program and has specific representatives to answer questions that students may have about the application process. 

Adkins said the easiest way for students to find out if they’re eligible and get started on their application is to come into the center and talk directly with a CalFresh enrollment specialist.

These specialists are available on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays on a walk-in basis from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to guide students on how to submit the proper documentation, what to expect in their CalFresh interview and more.

Additionally, a representative directly from the County of San Diego comes to the Basic Needs Center to help walk students through the process on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Adkins said that students who receive Cal Grant A or B, are studying a major under the Local Programs that Increase Employability (LPIE), or work on campus or over 20 hours a week, are commonly eligible to apply.

“Living in San Diego is very, very expensive, we all pay the prices and see that everyday,” said Adkins. “Any way that we’re able to have students have a little bit more leeway and room in their budget is something I think can really help.”

Janessa Lee, a third-year journalism and public relations major at SDSU, first heard about CalFresh from her older sister who enrolled in the program during college and recommended Lee to apply as a student who was no longer on a meal plan.

“I got help from the CalFresh representative through SDSU and A.S,” Lee said. “The process was very simple, and since I went through the school they told me what documents I needed and what I should expect in the interview, so I feel like I was pretty prepared.”

Lee said the whole process, starting from the day she applied until the day she received her benefits card, took around two weeks and was manageable for her, but even easier with the help of the school.

“I wish I knew about the school’s resources because I had an unusual process where it took them forever to get back to me,” Alison Blair, a third-year business-finance major at SDSU, said. “I feel like if it was directly through the school there would have been a faster response rate.”

Lee and Blair were both enrolled in CalFresh for the 2023-2024 school year and commented that the additional help with groceries made a huge difference in their monthly budget and helped them to save a lot of money.

CalFresh can significantly help to balance the monthly expenses many students juggle while in college and if eligible, students may be able to receive an Electronic Benefit Transfer card of up to $291 a month that can be used at a majority of grocery stores, even the Trader Joe’s on campus.

CalFresh benefits can be especially helpful for purchasing everything necessary for a holiday meal, due to the wide variety of grocery stores that accept it as a payment method. The program will be accepting applications throughout the holiday season, excluding Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. 

For more information on CalFresh, students can visit the Basic Needs Center website, along with the A.S website and SDSU website.